Snap-switch.



" S. A. KOLTONSKI.

y' SNAP sWITuH. Y

nemen-10N rlmm'oc'r. za, me.

l v1331511@ 00u11, 19710.A

Y murmur 17;* y l S. A. KGLTGNSKL sur SWITCH'.

LPPLIUATIOH PXLED 00T. 353, 15908.k

Patented oct. 11,1910.V `Y

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A UNITED STATE-S PATENT orrc STANISLAXV A.. KOLTONSKI. lCE' BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.- i

Specification of lettere '.Eaent.`

- Applitaton en October 2G. 1906, Serial No. 340,646..

To all whom 'it may concern: i

Be it known that I, Sraxismiv A. Koi.-

State of Massachusetts, have vinvented an Improvement in Simp-Switches, of which the. following description, in connection with the accomp'inying drawing.. isv a Specification, like letters :in the drawing representing like parts. v

This invention relates to .Cna lSivitchc and has for its ohjeet to provide a novel con` struction of hase and a nove-l way of mounting the binding posts therein; to provide a novel construction of binding post; to provide a novel construction of contacts for the binding post; to provide a novel way of mounting the connecting hars; to provide a novel indicator for indicating Whether the .switchis on or of? and to improve, generally in other respects the construction of the switch.

k1 wii iirst. describe one embodiment ofiny invention which'has heen selected forillns- Ltrative purposes, and will their point. ont'thc Anove] feanres in the appended chinos.

Fig. 4 is a side vie-e` of the Support detached;

Figi'. 5 in a plan view ot one of the connector bars; Fig. Shows one step in assembling the parts; Fi". i is a side View of the. baSe plate on which the spindleis supportati; 8 is a section on the line Fig. l; Fig. E) is n View of the carrier for the connecting liars; Fig. l() is a. detail of the locking member; Fig. 1l is a top plan view of the switch; Fig. 12 isatop plan .'iew with the cover removed; Fig. 13 is an interior view ofthe cover; Fig. 14 is a section on the line n-fr. Fig. I; Fig?. 15 and 1G are, details of the snap mechanisii: Fig'. 17 is a front view of the post: Fig. la View of the indicator; Fig.

1,53 is a sidil view' thereof: Fig. :20 iS a Section on theline. ,-J;, Fig. 18.

3 designates the usual hase on which the binding posts are secured, this being of porcelain or sonic other suitable insulating ma,v

i `ferial, and 4 designates the binding, posts' which carry the usnai contacts 50 and to Tozisnr', a subject of the Czar of Russia, and: a resident of Boston, county if Suffolk,

which the wires are secured. The binding *pestey are of novel shape. and are designed to have the 'niaxinnin'i strength at. the sides thereof where the set screws for gripping the wir if are Screivtlireaded into them n-'itina ont giving them too large a dian'wter, and are shapedto provide on opposite sides: suh- -stantial shouiders .or rests to engage-the top of the As kseen in Figs. l2 and 14( the binding posts are substantially eliiptieai or oblong in cross Asectional shape, and thc conductora-rocking aperture 5 is centrally sit*- nated. This construction provides an `increased, thickness of material at the .sides of the poffs where the set` Screw G is scrcw-- Patented om.. 1i', i910.`

diameter of the binding post which extends.v

radiaiiff of the Switch. Eat-.h binding poet. is cured to the base 3 in a. norelwziy. Each minding posi. is provided with the Shank portion T which is preferably of Ismaller diaine'- l ter than the npperpart of thepost, and which is cexitrally located thereby io produce the iwo shoulders S, one, on erich side of the post. Said allant: portion is received in an aperture J in the hase 2, the lower end of which is-connterhorcd. as at 10, and the shouldersShear against the. top of the hase,-

.find thn5 hold said post in an upright position. The post iS secured to the nase by forming en the end of the shank 9 an enlarged head 11, which hy cti-acting with the glio-aldo: 1:. formed. h v the coin1t-erlnire 10 permanently' unites the post to the hase. The two shoulders 8, one on each side of the post. serve to' maintain the correct vertical position of the. post, and the head l1 prevents the post from becoming -dis connected from the' hase. The bane. may also vhe provided with a slight; recess on its upper face to receive the lower 'end of the. enlarged portiony of the post., as shown in Fig. 1. and because this enlarged portion is non-circular, the recess prevents the post from turning. Since the posts. are

f' sections, each of which has the flaring lips usually made hollow thelower tend of` the shank 7 may be spun outor otherwise eX- pandcdto form a flange or head 11 which overlies the shoulder 12. A suitable Washer 13 of non-yielding materialis first placed on the-'shank before the spinning or expanding 7 ,processes to avoidany crackingl or breaking of the porcelain during the formation of the head. Bythis. construction each bin post is permanently securedl to the base iu such a way that it cannot become loosened,

i and since the securing means islocated With`-V matter beneath the base.

in the recessk or counterbore it is impossible forthe circuit to be short circuited by the accumulation omoistureor other foreign tacts be parallel to each other. It is not. al-

ms vpossible to maintain this parallelism, an

in order to provides. good Vcontact between the connector barsk and thel contact members under all conditions I preferably make the latter sectional, the sections beingl independently yieldable. Referring to Fig.

' 17 it will be seen that the two sides 'of cach Contact member are made `ina plurality of 15. W' ith this construction if the plane of the connector bar is not parallelwith'tbat of Vthe Contact member the various sections of the cont-act members Willv adapt themselves to the osition of the contact member and i thus adjordv a much better contact than if withinwhich the usual' cach part of the contacty member were in one piece. The connector bars 14 are each rigidly mounted on a carrier y16, and the carriers are mounted on the central support 17 spring 18 is confined.

1 19 designates the usual spindle to the upper end of which isscrewed the thumb piece or button 20. a Y 1 21 is the usual stationary ratchet, and 22 the lockingr slide which provided with rack teeth 23, see Fig. 15, that engage a pinion 24 on the spindle. 19. l The construction and operation of this ratchet and locking slide are so well knoWnthat further description thereof is not necessary.

'lhc support 17 is noncircular, it preferably being square, and at its lower end it has projections that enter the plate or holder 2G within which the locking slide 22 operates. l'n order to lock the carriers 16 to the holder lI make use of the following construction. I form a: locking,r member of sheet metal from a blank 27, such as shown in Fig. 10, it having four arms 28, each pro vided with oppositcly-disposcd notches 29, saidV blank having a central aperture 30.

portions 340i the arms 28 formed b dotted lines 31 sofas to stand at ri ht angles to the base, as shown in Fig. 6, an thearms When thus bent 'are inserted into the two "1' y carriers 16,-one :for each connector bar, until said-r carriers stand opposite the notches: 29.l

Each carrier has the r4shape' shown inv Fig.l i' v9, that 1s, it has the central frame provided with the oppositelydisposed -ears 32 `to which the corresponding Vconnector bar is securedV (each connector bar beingsuitably insulated from its carrier), and it is pro-r vided with the notches 33, one onl each side,-

.which are of a size to receive the reduced notches 29. After the carriers have thus the Si f been placed over the` bent-up arm 28, the. A central support. 17 is inserted betweenl the larms, said support being of such a size as f V' i tol force said arms intoy the notches Dl1ri ing this operation` the projections 25 on: thev guide'or plate 26, asbest seen in Fig. 8. With vthis construction the central support 17 holds the locking arms 28 lirmly in the notches 33, and the notches 29 hold the ca-i-,

ysupports. 17: fitinto the corners 35 of the. f

locking member and' enter apertures in the riers 16 in position.V kIn raclice I propose' Y to make the notches 29.*sl1ghtly longer than the' thickness of the two carriers 16, so that when the structure is assembled there is sulii# cient playin Vthe notchesl 29 to permit. the

carriers to Ymove suiiiciently so that the con- The two carriers are notsecured together, but! cach 1s mounted independently onthe bar may have a slight movement independent ofv the ',other, and consequentl Y if one pair of contact members 50 are slightly ing bar may adjust itself to their. position nector bars may readily adjust themselves to the position of the'contact members 50.1.' 1.00

'support-17, and, therefore, each connector'`v l i.

'v i out of alinement thecorresponding connectwithout interfering with the proper. oper-r ation of the other connecting bar; The connecting bars are, rigidly secured. to the carriers in any suitable way and-are roperliy e l insulated therefrom. Itjvilllbe -un"erstoo of course, that if the switch is a single polej switch onlv onev carrier and one connectorv will be used.

The spring *1f-l` has its lower end 36 rigidly fastened to thc plate or guide 26, said lower cud of the spring entering a hole 370 i through the locking member 27 and being received in a holezin the guide 26. The upper cnd of the spring 18 is secured to the anchor plate 37 which is mounted to turn y with the spindle 19. K

My switch is of that type inL which the spindle 19 is arranged to be inserted in lace from the bottom of the movement, an the anchor member 37 is put in position after the s iindle, the support 17 and the s rino l Y P s `have been aeseinliled. i In my invention, however, I have, provided a construction in which the anchor member when 1n place is located entirely within the support, this he ing:r` new so far as lam aware in the abovelelibltltl'pe of aivitGliLl 'l`lie'aiieli`f..r inemberis provided with the central slot which is of a shape to tit the rnon-circalar portion 38 of the spindle. and this non-circular portion is of Such a length tha t. a portionthereyof extends above the top of the support li',r

as clearly seenin Fig. `1. This construction permits the 'anchor member to be slipped into place at the upper part of the noncir cular portion and when it is located over the'borc of' the'support 17 it drops down- -tion atI the lower end of the non-circularr ward to engage the upper end of the spring, as shown in Fig. l, in which position it is received entirely within thel central snpport 17. it is held in place by means of a locltinzgr mit 39 `\\'liic.h is screwed on the kupper end of the spindle. Said nut Servesfto 1naintain the anchor member in'its proper posiportvion and holds the ycompletevswite-h together.

l designates .the usual cover lfor covering the operative parte o'f the switch. In coniiection with the cover l have provided an indicator which is adapted not only to visually indicate whether the switch is open or closed= but which is of such a construction that a person may tell by the sense of feeling i the condition of the switch.

Forethis pui. pose I have connected to the holder an indicater which is specially shaped at. one portion :intl employ in connection with the indi.- eator a #hield The indicator and shield have suf-h a relation Vthat, when the switch if. closed the, peculiarly-shaped portion of the indicator is in position where itv can be elt` while Awhen the switch is open this peculiarlv-sln pcd portion is protected by f th(l .shield am cannot be felt.. By feeling for this iiecnliarly-Shaped portion of the indicator a person can tell by the sense of touch wia-ther or .not the switch is on or ott, This result may be obtained in a varietv of ways, und in the present embodiment of in v invention 1 employ an indiator 41 which is disk-shaped, and which when the cover is on is interloeked with the central support l'ito be rotated therewith. T his interlocking of the indicator and central support is secured by the flanges 43 which depend from the indicator and embrace the upper epd of the central support. These [langes are insulated froni the indicator by heiner attached to a plate 91v of insulating material. which plate. in tnrn .secured to thiI indicator. The upper end of the support may have progeetions 164 on two opposite. sides to prevent the indicator froin beingimpropri-l)` assembled' with reference to the central support. .This indicator is situate-l direc-tty undermath the top oi' the cover 4U, and may be held 1nl place in the cover when the latter isdetached in any suitable way.y :As herein shown l employ a retauiuugr plate 44A situated directly beneath the indicator ll to hold the latter in place, and then ein-V ploy a lining 45 of insulatingr material for the sides'of the cover and the underside' ot the plate 44. lThe Special-ly formed portion oi the indicator niav have' a variety of Shapes. `1n the present eiaihodiinent of my invention l provide it. at certain points with eater rotates, travels around 1n a groove or recess 4T formed inthe cover. The recessed or grooved portion of the cover is out' away at one point. at 4S, and the indicator is si shaped that when the switch is om the npturned fiange registers Willi the opening 4S so that. a person b v feeling for the opening can feel said upturned tiaiige. Whenthe switch is open or "otV a portion of the indicator which has no uptui'ned flange and which is smooth stands opposite the lJpeiiing 48. lith my invention therefore a rson can feel for the flange. 46 and if he etectsV it situated at the opening 4S then he knows that the sivitclris onfnvhile it the ianqe is absenthe knows' that the switchis o Any otherspccial shape of indicator which is adapted to indicate by the sense of touch whether or not the switch is on l or ,oif

may be employed without departing from my invention.

p Although l have described herein one em- Vbodini'entt of in v invention I do not wish `to he hunted to the constrnctional details shown s 'they may be varied Without, de` partingr from the invention which is expressed in the appended claims.`

Having fully described my invention what A`I claim as nenr and desire to secure by Letters Patent isrt 1. In a switch, a base provided with an aperture formed with an ,annnlarslioulden a hindinlgr post having a shank extending through said aperture and provided witlran' enla rg'ed end formed by expanding the shank. and a strain-receiving annular ineinher of non-yielding material surrounding the shank and Situated betvieeii said enlarged vend vand the shoulder.

an uptnrnec flange, 4G, lwhich, as the'iudif 'i V3. In a switch, a base having an aperture,

tubular binding post having arshank extending through said aperture, the end of the shank being expanded totorm a'fiange at right angles to the shank which overlies a portion of thel base and means to relieve levees? e' the baseV from lateral pressure due to ei:-V

pending the end of' the shank 4. In a switch, a base, a binding post thereon having two-separated Contact mem- -bers and a rotary member carrying a connector bar -to enter between said contact members, 'each contact member being divided transversely to the direction of movement of the connector bar toform a pluralityof sections which are situated to be engagedsuccessively bythe connector bai' as it rotates.

5. In a switch, va base, a binding post Y, thereon having'two separated contact mem-` f be successively engaged by the connector bar as it rotates. Y

6. In a switch, a base, a binding post thereon having two separated contact niembers and a rotary member carrying a connector Abar to'. enter between said contact members, each contact member comprising a plurality ofsectons arranged in the same plane and` situated in line with each other in the vdirection of movement of theconnector bar. e 7 i 7. In a switch, a binding post having a pair of laterally-extending contact members each` composed of a plurality of independently-yieldable sections arranged in the sa-mc plane, and a rotary member having a connector bar to enter between =said contact members, the sections of each member being situated in line with each other in the directionof movement of the connector bar.

8. vIna switch, a non-circular support, a connector-bar carrier surrounding said su port,^a locking strip interposed between tlrie connector-bar carrier and the support for locking the carrier in place, a connector bar mounted on thencarrier and contacts with which said connector bar coiperates.

'9. In a switch, a central support, a connector-bar carrier encircling said support and provided with notches on its inner face, a notched locking member interposedv between. the carrier and the support. and received in tbe'notches in the carrier, a connector bar mounted on the carrier and contacts with which said connector bar cooperates. v

10. In a switch, a support, a connectorbar carrier surrounding said support, a `locking member provided with an arm to overlie hold the 'carrier in position on t .indicator within the cover, sai

having its entire surface of the same char-V each side of lthe support and operating to 'e support, a kconnector bar mounted on the carrier andr contacts with'whicli said connector bar cooperates. A 3

11. In a switch, a'sup'port, a connectorbar carrier surrounding the support, a lockin member having an arm to overlie each si e of the support, the carrier having a notch to receive eacharni, and each arm being notched to receive the caipier, a connector bar mounted on the cf'rer and contacts with which said connectob, bar co I operates. l 12. In a switch, a movable Contact; member, a handle for operating said member, an indicator having its surface bf the saine character except one portion thereof which is lshaped suiliciently differently from the rest to be readily differentiated therefrom; i i

by thesense ott touch, and a shield arranged to cover'said portion of the indicator when the switch 1s in one position but to leave said portion nncoveredwhen the switch is in another position, one of said parts being operated by a handle and movable with the Contact member. n Y

11i-.Iii a switch, a movable contact meinber, a handle for operating said member, an` v indicator` o erat'ed by :aid handle and having the en fre surface thereof of the same character except one portion which is Suffie ciently diiierent from the rest of the surface to be readily distinguished therefrom by the sense of touchfind a fixed shield sit uated to cover said portion of the indicator when the switch is in one-position and to permit said portion to be exposed when the switch is in another position. Y

1l. In a' snap switch, a stationary cover having an opening of a size to permit of a ersons linger to feel therethrou h, and an indicator acter with thek exception of a speciallyrormed portion whichis adapted to be distinguished readilyk by -the sense of touch, the opening in the cover Vbeing situated 2so that when the switch in one position said specially-formed portion can be felt therethrough.

15.' In a snap switch, a movable contact iio member, a handle for operating the saaie,y

an indicator operated by said handle, said indicator having an uptarned flange on one portion thereof, a' stationary cover inclosing the indicato" and provided with a groove for said flange to travel in, said cover having an opening in position to expose said flange when the switch is in a certain position. Y

16. In a switch, the combination with a base having an aperture, of a binding post provided with a shank extending through said apertui'e and also provided with' a nonnon-circular portion of the postwhereby the circular portion, said' shank having an inlatter is held from turning. .tegral portion. thereof expanded to form u In testimony whereof, I have signed my f ange to lock the post tothe base and a` mime to this specification, in the presence` of 5 strain-reving vsher sulroiomflingc'i l tvvo Subscribing witnesses. y

' sizaman situate( 'etweent e ase an e; Y Y ,Y 1 f'mnge, said washer having sucient strength I STABISLAX; A- KUlOlS SRI. n

l Y iitnessis: l, LOUIS C. SMITH,V Y MARGARET A. DUNN.

to resist the pressure thereagainst as the Fange is expanded, and a base having u re` l0 cess m itsV upper face tc recen'e and fit the 

